AR Sponsor
Posted: 8/25/2007 7:12:37 AM EDT
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While at the range, I noticed that it was becoming increasingly difficult to manually cycle live cartridges through the action. The cartridges were sticking in the chamber as I worked the action. Several times it was necessary to use considerable force to pull back the charging handle in order to extract the live rounds. I examined the rounds, and noticed a ring of powder fouling on the edge of the shoulder (where the shoulder meets the body). This was surprising because I have never encountered any powder fouling in the chamber of any weapon. Next I proceded to clean the chamber quite thoroughly with a .41 magnum brush, followed by patches wrapped around the brush. The live rounds will now cycle through the weapon without sticking at all. It appears that powder residue had indeed coated the chamber walls and caused the rounds to begin to stick inside. This experience leads me to ask a couple of questions: Does the direct impingement operation of the AR platform cause powder fouling to accumulate in the chamber?? If the chamber is not scrubbed with a brush, and this condition is allowed to continue, will the AR become unreliable because the cartridge cannot seat fully forward? |
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Were you shooting old Wolf laquer coated ammo? I have an AR with over 2,000 rounds through it... I've NEVER cleaned the chamber. In fact, I've never, EVER cleaned the chamber on the half dozen or so AR's I've owned over the years. I think you had an ammo issue. Were you shooting 5.56 in a .223 chamber? The excessive pressure produced may have caused your hang ups as well. You should check out TOS, they usually have a highly enlightened discussion about these very issues. |
That's what I'm thinking.
I've cleaned mine, but I haven't been nutso white glove OCD about it. I made sure they were polished well when I got them, cleaned IAW the -10, and ran them.
+1 to that as well.
No. The gas gets returned behing the chamber if that is what you are thinking.
It might. You need to give more details before any other determination could be made. |
Well, it’s not like I’m hosing the whole rifle down!  Plus, the PRI mount is not quick release.  ETA: The splattering you see on the Aimpoint comes from the Break-free Powder Blast I shoot down the barrel before I begin cleaning the bore. Not a problem though, because when it’s all said and done I apply a VERY light coat of CLP to the outside of the weapon using a 1“ paint brush, then wipe it down with a black t-shirt.  
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Does the direct impingement operation of the AR platform cause powder fouling to accumulate in the chamber?? No more than any other rifle type. If the chamber is not scrubbed with a brush, and this condition is allowed to continue, will the AR become unreliable because the cartridge cannot seat fully forward? It can in any semiauto or full auto. The chamber of the AR must be precise enough to allow accurate shooting, yet loose enough to allow easy chambering and extraction. The problem that was encountered in Vietnam with the early M16's was only the bore was chromed, not the chamber. Vietnam has very high rainfall and rusting chambers was quite a problem. (Later improvements included chroming the bore AND chamber.) But even today, accumulated grit and grim can cause chambering and extraction problems. If you must do a halfway job of cleaning your AR-15, you are better off doing the "quick clean". Remove the bolt carrier assembly, remove the bolt, wipe it it and the cam pin clean, reassemble and lube generously. Clean the chamber with brush and then patch. Wipe out the inside of the bolt carrier. Reassemble the rifle. Forget the bore. This will keep the rifle functioning with just a few minutes of work. |
| When back home, I use a few sections of cleaning rod with the chamber brush mounted, chucked up in an cordless drill. Just a few seconds of rotation while plunging in and out will have the chamber well scrubbed. Then just swab it out. The chamber should be left dry, no lube in it, or at most, for storage, a very light film. |
I love QUIB posts. Great information, great photography, and a great guy. Needs his own forum I sez. |
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Follow this simple rule, clean everything you can. Polish out the chamber with flitz after using a chamber brush and brakleen. Someday you will be thankful you leave your rifle in pristeen condition, like when you need it the most. I clean every weapon I own thoroughly. You never know when you may need it, and when your next chance to clean it will ever come. One word "PREPAREDNESS" |
If I wasn’t so slow I’d swear your using the cartoons I previously posted to poke fun at the CAV!  
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Dont make me drag out Yoda. 
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I pretty much agree that I hardly ever do more in a regular cleaning than wipe the chamber to get rid of any bore solvent that got dribbled off the patch or brush when I was cleaning the bore. I use a bore guide and work towards the muzel but the outside of the bore guide does get juiced up. The few times I have had any opperation problems with an AR I do drag out a chamber brush and scrub away just to eliminate any chance of that . Suspect a dirty chamber if you have been useing a Ceiner rimfire adapter , wolf or other coated ammo, handloads or any suspect surplus ammo |
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Dewey Rods makes makes a good lug/chamber cleaning kit. DEWEY |
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I clean the chamber on occasion. But when I first build the rifle, before any rounds are put through it, I polish the chamber with an old chamber brush, a few patches, a cordless drill, and some simi-chrome polishing compound. Gets it nice and shiny, dosn't screw up headspace, and virtually nothing sticks to it. Even that lacquer crap on wolf ammo. Since I started doing this on every build since 1998, I've never had a case get stuck in the chamber, for any reason, at any time. When the guns start getting real dirty, it's easy to see all sorts of baked on carbon and crap on the ejected shells, but none of it stays inside the gun. They always hand cycle easily as well, regardless of how dirty the gun or chamber is. But I still toss a chamber brush in on occasion just for shits and giggles. |
+1 I use a .40 cal bore mop & jeweler's rouge. It is the first thing done to my barrels. Bore foam & brake cleaner after that. It always looks like a mirror. |
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Ok, I know why the rounds were sticking. I shot a few of my friends reloads the other day, and noticed that he had failed to remove the case lube after resizing. Didn't think much about it at the time, but now am convinced that is what caused this problem. Being an AR noob, I thought that maybe the direct impingement operation of this particular platform had caused the fouling to accumulate in the chamber. Nope. Just case lube. Thanks for the replies. |
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Case lube? That stuff can bake into the chamber. Chuck a brush up in a drill, and like my post and a few other posts here, clean it well. Takes just second. To remove case lube I put the loaded rounds in the tumbler with crushed walnut hulls and tumble for about 10 minutes. That cleans them well. No, it does not hurt the ammo in any way. My load is with once-fired LC cases, pulled 55 gr fmj's, AA 2230C, and Win Small Rifle Primers. It is a fairly good imitation of M193.
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That is exactly what I did to get it out. Good advice.
I use this method as well.
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I have found that with Wolf ammo, I have to clean the chamber religiously or risk having cases get stuck in there. After as few as 90 rounds, I can see obvious carbon deposits building up. These don't seem to hurt anything initially, but if I let it sit like that, the next time I shoot it *will* jam. It seems that I can shoot hundreds of rounds without cleaning the chamber if its all in the same day, the problem occurs when letting these deposits sit and harden. As long as the cleaning gets done the same day that I shoot, it comes out very easy. Let it sit, and it becomes harder to remove although still not bad. |
Yes. I don't run non-chromed barrels. Polishing the chrome in the chamber does indeed help. Get it to a mirror finish and virtually nothing sticks to polished hard chrome. It's one of the best things I ever started doing to all of my builds besides switching my weapon lube to Nikal grease. |
Thanks! I'm going to try this. |
AA2230 is excellent, too. But I was using AA2230C which is slightly different from regular AA 2230. It is a canister powder. There was a load data sheet available online from Accurate, and also load data on the label. I worked up to the max load on the label and data sheet. I don't think 2230C is currently available. I used to get it from Natchez Shooters Supply. I still have some left, and when that is gone will have to work up a new load. |
Thanks for posting this, I just ordered a kit. |
Aloha Quib. I got to ask, what is the forceps for when you clean a rifle? |
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Concerning the case lube. I tumble before sizing/decapping. I prepare the cases(trimming, debur, etc.) Then tumble again to remove the lube and clean. Then they are primed, charged and loaded. They come out looking like new! Between proper cleaning and lube, if done right, more than likely you won't have a malfunction. Mark |
14.5 middy. I just cracked her open to make sure, looks like normal anodized whatever the hell the metal is to me. I tried taking pictures, but my camera f'in sucks. Here are two crappy pics:   |
I didn't think CMMG made non-chromed CMV barrels. Yours is probably chromed, I can't tell from the pics. Chrome lining on a barrel doesn't look like chrome on a car. |
CMMG chrome lines all their CMV barrels....don't worry. Now clean your weapon. 
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It is :) It didn't look like Squib's picture on the day I took it out of the box. |
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